


home again

by ShyAudacity



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Boys In Love, Hospitals, Hurt Archie Andrews, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Injury, M/M, Movie Reference, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Break Up, Rescue, Sad Jughead Jones, Sort Of, thats not a surprise tho haha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:12:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13377939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyAudacity/pseuds/ShyAudacity
Summary: "Archie Andrews went for a boat ride up sweet water river the other day… no one has seen or heard from him since then. We’re looking for volunteers to help find him, any and all assistance is greatly appreciated.Jughead hasn’t been able to think straight since Sheriff Keller broke the news this morning. He’d been sitting at the bar at Pop’s, trying to soothe a headache with a cup of coffee when the older man had walked in and shattered him to pieces in a matter of seconds."ORYou know the rescue scene from Charlie. St Cloud? Yeah, it's kinda like that, but with Riverdale.





	home again

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to do a full Charlie St. Cloud AU but then realized that I only really wanted to do the rescue part, so that's what I did. 
> 
> Unbeta'd and title from From Now On (Greatest Showman).

_Archie Andrews went for a boat ride up sweet water river the other day… no one has seen or heard from him since then. We’re looking for volunteers to help find him, any and all assistance is greatly appreciated._

Jughead hasn’t been able to think straight since Sheriff Keller broke the news this morning. He’d been sitting at the bar at Pop’s, trying to soothe a headache with a cup of coffee when the older man had walked in and shattered him to pieces in a matter of seconds.

Himself and Archie had broken up almost a month ago. It was messy and all kinds of awful, but it had to be done, Jughead couldn’t risk dragging Archie into the wreckage that is his life. He couldn’t let Archie get ruined by everything seems to follow him around.

After Keller broke the news, Jughead went back to the trailer and trashed the place. He tore photo’s off the wall, upended the couches, made a mess of the place much like the cops did when they raided it on homecoming. He proceeded to cry his eyes out, mourning something that he wasn’t sure that he had the right to miss in the first place.

He’d been the one to let go of Archie, he’d been the one to break it off. When he closes his eyes, Jughead can still see the distraught look that had been on Archie’s face when he said _we’re done, I don’t want to see you anymore._ Archie had begged and pleaded, looking for an answer as to why Jughead would leave him when things had been going so well.

_Juggie, please, just talk to me. I don’t understand, why are you doing this? What did I do? Tell me what’s wrong. Let me fix this, please don’t go._

All Jughead had done was walk away, trying his hardest not to go crawling back on his hands and knees, to seek for whatever forgiveness Archie may grant him. He’d walked away, ignoring how Archie called after him, ignoring the way that the boy that he loved cried. That moment hurt more than anything else he’s felt in years. It’s something that he’ll never forgive himself for.

Once the trailer was a sufficient mess and Jughead had cried himself out, he lied on the ground for over an hour, staring up at the ceiling. He kept replaying Sheriff Keller’s words in his head over and over again, trying to make sense of things.

_Archie Andrews went for a boat ride up sweet water river the other day… no one has seen or heard from him since then._

It couldn’t be true, it just couldn’t. There’s no way that Archie is missing, or even dead. Jughead would know, he’s known Archie since they were children, he’s got a sixth sense when it comes to him now.

_He’s not dead. It’s not true. He can’t be gone._

Jughead gets up, ignores the mess that he’s left on the floor and walks out of the trailer, headed straight for Sweet Water River. He knows exactly where Archie would have started his boat ride, at the rockiest party of the water, right where Cheryl had been after her canoe “tipped.” Archie always loved to challenge himself; it doesn’t surprise Jughead that Archie would’ve gone against the current opposed to following it down river. 

Jughead makes his way down to the rivers edge, nearly slipping on the rocks more than once. He crouches, sticking his fingers in the water, then retracting them quickly when he feels how cold the water it. He curses under his breath, if Archie got caught in that water for too long- he didn’t even want to think about it.

Not knowing what else to do, Jughead begins to make the trek up the river, content to follow it until he finds Archie, until he finds _something_. The longer he walks, the colder he gets. It is the middle of January after all, Jughead should have brought another jacket, something for Archie too once he finds him. Despite no longer being able to feel his fingers from the cold, he keeps moving, propelled forward by the ultimate need to find Archie.

The sky darkens in the middle of the day, the clouds having gone gray, giving off the impression that it’s going to storm. He pulls his jacket tighter around his shoulders. After two hours of walking, more than six miles away from where he started according to the markers, Jughead feels his blood run cold as he comes across a red, splintered row boat. The messy, painted handwriting of _S.S. Andrews_ sprawled across the side. The splattering of blood at the nose of the boat is unnerving on a new level.

“Shit… Archie!” He yells.

Jughead starts running, moving faster than he has in years. The cold air bites at his face the faster that he moves. He can’t stop now, he _won’t,_ not until he finds Archie. Just as his lungs begin to burn from all the running, he spots a patch of red hair up ahead, and his heart seizes in his chest.

“Arch!”

In his attempts to get closer, Jughead loses his footing, falling face first into the jagged rocks. He knows that he blacked out for at least a minute because the next thing he knows he’s flat on his back and his vision is blurry. His head hurts like all hell. Craning his neck around, he can just barely see Archie a few feet away sprawled across the ground, faced away from him.

Jughead pulls his shattered phone out of his pocket, taps out the number that he’s had memorized since he was six years old.

_“Hello?”_

“Mr. A?”

_“Jughead? Is something wrong?”_

“I found- Arch.” He grunts.

_“What? Where is he? Is he okay?”_

“I don’t think so- ugh, we’re six miles up the river.”

_“Okay, okay, I’m gonna call the Sheriff, but I’m coming, alright? I’m-.”_

The call cuts out, Jughead feels like he could cry out of frustration and pain. He lets his phone fall to the ground, then rolls over, despite how it makes his body hurt.

“Archie… Arch, c’mon.” Jughead rasps out. When nothing happens, he pushes himself up on his arms, pulling himself towards Archie.

Archie looks like a ghost. His whole body is pale and there’s a somewhat dried gash on his temple; Jughead is no longer unconvinced that he isn’t _actually_ dead. He settles a stiff hand under Archie’s jawline, sighing in relief when he feels the faint pulse beneath his hand. Jughead wishes that it wasn’t so cold, wishes that he could get Archie out of here already, get him some help.

Not knowing what else to do, and feeling incredibly tired, Jughead drops down next to Archie on the near frozen, uneven ground. With what little strength that he has left, Jughead pulls him closer so that their chests are touching. He tucks one of his arms around Archie’s back, using his other to press Archie’s face into his neck.

“Please,” Jughead whispers against Archie’s forehead. “Please jus’ stay with me a little longer.”

He’s not sure how long the two of them lie there after that, Jughead fades in and out of consciousness for a while, breathing heavily and talking to Archie as if he can actually hear him. At some point, the wind picks up, Jughead hears the sounds of sirens somewhere in the distance, he’s too disoriented to realize that they’re coming for him and Archie.

Before he even realizes what’s happening, someone is pulling him onto a backboard, away from Archie.

“Wh- no, what’re you- Archie.” Jughead struggles against the hands on his shoulders, at least he tries to. He forces his eyes open, just barely able to make out the shape of Sheriff Keller looming above him.

“Archie is going to be fine,” He says. “We just need to get you two to a hospital right now… you did good, Jughead.”

He wants to believe it, he really does, but he can’t, not until he sees Archie for himself. He feels like his whole body is made of lead, but he tries to search for Archie anyways. Lifting his head, Jughead spots Archie being loaded into an ambulance, his father at his side.

“Wanna go with him.” He says as best he can. “Please, just let me-.”

“Kid, you need to calm down.”

“No, I need to- Archie!”

It’s a miracle that Jughead doesn’t scream himself hoarse with all the yelling he’s done. He can’t leave Archie alone, doesn’t everyone else understand that? Why won’t they listen to him? He doesn’t stop shouting until he himself gets put into a separate ambulance, after one of the medics sticks a needle in his arm and makes everything go dark.

***

When Jughead comes to again, the air around him is sterile as can be and his throat is impossibly dry. He sticks his hand out in hopes of finding some water, but instead he only manages to knock over the half empty cup that was sitting there.

“Shit, here- let me help you.”

Jughead knows that voice; he cracks an eye open and he sees Fred Andrews standing next to his bed, pouring water out of a blue pitcher.

“Mr. Andrews?”

“Drink this, you’ll feel better.” He says, pressing the plastic cup into Jughead’s hand.

He takes it, drinking the water greedily, enjoying the way that it soothes his throat. He sighs, settling back against the pillows once he’s done. Fred places a hand on top of his beanie less forehead, and Jughead remembers why he’s here in the first place.

“Where’s Archie?”

“He’s down the hall- don’t worry, his mom is with him.”

 “Is he…”

Fred nods. “A case of hypothermia and a little beat up, but other than that he’s gonna be just fine. It’s a good thing that you called when you did; Sheriff Keller was about to call off the search, we might have never found him.”

Jughead hums a little, the painkillers and the exhaustion from the day catching up to him. He lets his eyes fall shut, content knowing that Archie is going to be okay.

Fred rubs his thumb over his forehead, speaking quietly to Jughead as he falls asleep again.

“Thank you for saving my kid.”

***

The next morning, once Jughead can stand up without his knees buckling, the nurse allows him to go visit Archie. He rolls his eyes when she insists on helping him down the hallway. He pauses in the doorway, taking a minute to breathe before going in.

Archie is curled up on his side under a light pink blanket and facing the door, looking less pale than the last time that Jughead saw him. There’s a dozen stitches where the gash on his temple used to be. _At least he’s been awake for a little bit,_ he thinks to himself; _Archie always did sleep better when he was lying on his side._

Jughead takes a seat in front of him. Hesitantly, he picks up one of Archie’s hands, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles, content to wait and just watch him sleep for as long as he needs.

_I can’t believe that I ever thought leaving him was a good idea. I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t made it out of this alive. Thank fuck, he’s alive._

Archie begins to stir twenty minutes later, and Jughead stiffens up, afraid of how he’s going to react. Brown eyes land on his face and Jughead manages a small smile.

“Jughead?”

“Yeah, yeah it’s me.” He says softly.

Archie hums a little, grinning lightly.

“What? What is it?”

“I knew you’d come for me.” He mumbles, eyes drooping shut; he tightens his fingers around Jughead’s hand.

Jughead gets a warm feeling in his chest so strong that it nearly makes him cry. Instead, he swallows harshly, nodding in response.

“Go back to sleep, Arch. You need your rest.”

“You’ll be here? When I wake up?”  

He nods once more, “I’ll be here, I promise… I’m not leaving again.”

Jughead kisses his knuckles, his forehead, what ever he can reach as Archie falls asleep. All that he keeps thinking is _God, I love him._ He’s so fucking grateful that Archie is okay, grateful that he is going to get a chance to patch things up, to explain himself.

Later, if Jughead crawls into bed and curls himself around Archie, hugging him from behind, well- maybe that’s a secret best kept to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> I love these boys and this ship a stupid amount if you couldn't already tell. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment/kudos if you liked it. Come talk to me on tumblr as archieandrewsprotectionsquad. Have a great day!


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